


Reunion

by Not_You



Series: Secret Son [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Ableism, Angst, Disability, Gen, Implied Torture, Parents & Children, Tony Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-08
Packaged: 2017-12-07 21:25:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/753238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_You/pseuds/Not_You
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jimmy's perspective on the events of the first portion of Iron Man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunion

_"Hang on, Obie, gotta say goodbye to the kid."_

_"The kid, the kid, the fuckin' kid. You should adopt him out, Tony. You don't have enough time for a pet."_

When Daddy is missing it hurts. Jimmy doesn't know why it hurts, but it does, heavy and cold in his chest. It's always there, too. He'll wake up in the middle of the night not remembering who he is or where he is but his chest still hurts. They take him to the doctor and Jimmy kicks and bites and howls and pees in his pants and doesn't care because Daddy is missing. He hides when they get home, and won't even come out for fresh pants for a long time. Daddy is missing and that makes everything wrong. Mommy was missing too, and then when they found her she was dead. She was at a party when she went missing, though. She wasn't at work like Daddy was, and he's not sure if that makes a difference. Will and Mary promise that they'll tell him anything new they find out, but for the longest time all anyone knows is that Daddy is missing. And that Rhodey is looking for him. Rhodey can be kind of scary sometimes, but he's a good friend to Daddy and is good at finding things.

Jimmy wonders if every day will be like this forever if they never find Daddy or find him dead, but Will says that you do get over it when people you love die, that it always hurts but not as bad as it did right at first. Jimmy isn't sure Will isn't lying, but it's hard to tell. Mary just says that she hasn't given up hope and that Jimmy shouldn't either. Jimmy likes that better. Mary prays sometimes, but Jimmy doesn't. Praying is like hoping, though, and he hopes and hopes that Daddy is all right.

_Drowning puts things into perspective. It's not like he's been neglecting the kid. In fact, seeing Jimmy is generally the highlight of Tony's day on any day that he does see him. It's just that here and now with his life flashing before his eyes, there aren't enough of those days. He's gonna change that. Provided he survives._

It's been so long that hoping is hard. Daddy is rich and famous, if he hasn't turned up he's probably dead. Even dead someone should have found him by now. Jimmy never puts his blanket down anymore, because Cone of Protection helps. A little. He cries a lot. And then there's a call in the middle of the night, and Rhodey has found Daddy. Daddy is coming home. For some reason this makes him cry even more, but Mary is crying too and even Will is crying, so maybe that's okay.

_"I want to see my son, and I want an American cheeseburger," is all Tony will tell anyone. God, Jimmy's so fucked up already, and his mom dying the way she had and all those dickheads in the group home… he has to get to the kid. Has to let Jimmy really know he's all right. They've managed to duck everyone, and he can stumble out onto this quiet suburban street and slink into his son's house, still filthy and ragged and goddamn does his chest hurt. He supposes he'll have to get used to that._

_"Oh my god," Mary says when she opens the door to him, and then, "Oh my god," again, and he almost makes some stupid sex joke and damn the fact that she's a lesbian but he catches sight of Jimmy over her shoulder and everything else goes out of focus._

Jimmy doesn't like hugs, but he's usually not seeing Daddy for the first time in months. He has to grab onto Daddy, to make sure that he's really here and it's not a dream and he didn't die and Jimmy isn't alone like he was after Mommy. But Daddy must be here because he smells bad, and he laughs when Jimmy tells him so.

"Sorry, kid."

"You should take a shower."

"No time. I've got to call a press conference."

"Don't go."

_The press conference is important, but nothing is as important as this. Tony sits with his son and holds him for a while longer before getting up and going out to make the world a better place for him to grow up in._


End file.
